Hi

Just back from Dominican I did the sealion encounter which I found far better than the dolphin encounter, much more interaction; however I would recommend you book those as they do fill up pretty quick & a lot of tourists were left disappointed as they had not booked.

Hi, we are going to DR in Dec 2006 and want to go see the dolphins (who dosent!!)

Is it better to book through the Ocean World website direct with them, or best to do it through Thomsons?

Also, is it worth paying the extra to do the dophin swim? Many people seem to suggest the Encounter is better value for money. Apart from being pulled through the water in the swim , do you do anything else with the dolphins? Im not a great swimmer, do the life jackets hold you afloat adequately?

Anything else we should know?

Hi gary, it doesnt matter where and how you book ocean world its the same price. have a look at their website oceanworld.net. also have a look at debbiesdominican, lots of very useful advice on the forum. isaira tours is one company that is particularly recommended and when we go in oct we will be using them.
as regards which dolphin thing is better i think its just personal choice. the water is very deep and i'm not a strong swimmer so i will be doing encounter

me again.sorry.

8 days til we go.........yeh...

can anyone tell me if they accept dominican pesos for payment for dolphinswim/encounter?? as all the prices on oceanworld website are in us dollars????

from what i remember when we booked the trips you could pay in either dollars or pesos through whichever tour company you use. remember though that it is a fixed price and you wont find it any cheaper. some hotels have ann ocean world rep available on site also.

... will we need to book it in the Uk though before we go? How would we do it in the hotel, or are there busses which run back and forth to the park? We're staying in Gran ventana.

Hi gary, you can book it before you go,but the reps will charge their commision on it. the Gv has a ocean world rep on site, so wait until you get there. there are buses that run back and forth, but you get on one unless you are pre booked cos they only allow so many people in a day. an you need to pre book simply so you can do your swim/encounter when you want to do it. we used a company called isaira tours to book all our trips. the have their own website with prices and also a guestbook that you can look at for peoples opinions on this company.
Hope that helps.

Claire.
P.s we LOVED the Gran Ventana.

Thanks for that advice Clare. Appreciated.

hi to all, can anyone tell me how you would best go about making a booking for the swim rather than the encounter at ocean world? we have booked with thomson and have noticed that they offer this excursion for about £84 pp which i thought was ok for such an exiting experience, but is it considerably more expensive than booking direct through ocean world's website? also as we are not flying till 12/3/08, how far in advance will we need to book as i am told it is very popular? thanks to everyone in advance!

Hi greek kitty, you may find that your hotel has an ocean world rep on site. if you are staying for 2 weeks wait until you get there and book. you can book through their website directly but not sure whether you have to pay upfront. tour reps are cheeky. ocean world has price fixing policy which is supposed to mean that prices are the same no matter who and where you book with. I can highly reccomend a compnay we used in playa dorada, and they have a website also. we made an appt over the internet, they collected us fromthe hotel, took us to the office, went thorugh all the trips and showed us insurance and licences etc and then we paid. they are called isaira tours.
hope that helps

Hi, I have just arrived back today from dominician, and my family 2 adults and 2 children did the ocean world trip and did the dolphin swim, what a fantastic experience, after meeting the dolphins initally you then kiss them, hug them, they swim and jump right over the top of you, and then they pull you along. Although I personally was very scared at the time (the dolphins are so big when your next to them in the water) it was an experience which was well worth the money and one that I will never forget.(approx £300 engish pounds in total for a family of 4). We booked in our resort on the beach, we where advised to book at least one week in advance which we did. Everything else within ocean world is also great, it was a fantastic day out.

Hi
me & my partner are going to dom rep soon and want to visit ocean world and do the shark/sting ray encounter. I am just wondering if anyone has done this encounter and was this bookable through your tour rep at your hotel?

I know that the dolphin swim will most likely be available as it is popular but just wanted to check about the shark/sting ray incase we have to book in advance before we go?!

Thanks for any help

Danielle

hi

my family (2 adults and 2 children 11 & are staying at the gran ventana hotel in july/august 2008 and really really want to do the dolphin swin at ocean world.
could anyone please tell me an up to date price for this trip and prices of dvds, and photos if pos

many thanks in advance

p.s whats is the gran ventana like????

jo

spuddlerdigs wrote:

p.s whats is the gran ventana like????

You've had replies to your question HERE

For further hotel info please post in that topic. Thanks.

Pippy

Hi there.
I've just visited Oceanworlds website and I have seen that the price for the dolphin encounter is $115 and the dolphin swim is $165.Can anyone please tell me if these prices are in ADDITION to the general admission price of $55 or is that included.
Many thanks for any help given.

David

PS: Roll on the 5th of July!

Can only say that when we went to the parks in Mexico, it was extra to the already high admission prices.
When we went to a dolphinarium in Cuba, it was included in the day price whether you wanted to jump in or not.

Cheers Steve

I wouldnt bother with the dolphin swim. Its not worth the extra money.

The encounter is fantastic. You sit in the pool, on a floating platform. You get to touch, hug, kiss, feed, dance with, play with the dolphin and you are in there about an hour. Lots of contact. The dolphin swim, you do similar, but you do it floating in the main pool with the life jacket on. The only extra is that you get the have them push you in the water (they push your feet) and you can hold their fins and they pull you through the water.

I wholey recommend as well the SeaLion encounter. I enjoyed this more than the dolphin one. You watch the show, then after the crowds have left, you sit on the side of the pool. The sea lion comes and lays across your legs, and you can stroke him while the keeper explains the parts of the sealion to you (didnt know they had toe nails), and they are silky smooth with their big brown eyes looking up you. Awww.. You also get to play ball with them, and have a few photos taken with them (such as sitting in a chair with the sea lion hugging you from behind, head over your shoulder).

The great thing I found about Ocean World is that they dont mind you taking your own photos. In the chair, they had their own photographer doing photos, but would happily wait for a friend to take one on your camera too. You can buy the photographer photos (and video) and the end of the day if you want, but I didnt bother.

A few people did the shark encounter, I didnt, similar thing, touch them, feed them etc. Didnt see anyone do the stingray encounter for obvious reasons.

Anyway, definately do the dolphin encounter and sea lion encounter. The price may sound high, but its a full day of entertainment, its a stunning place with lots to do. You can snorkel through a coral reef full of fish (free), have lovebirds eating out of your hand in the avairy (free), feed the parrots (free), eat as much as you want in the restaurant (free), its a great day out and our tour rep on the coach on the way there was soooo funny. I loved it there.

PS. make sure you also do the monster truck excursion.... do not miss that one, its a brilliant fun day out.

Hi garyholc.

Many thanks for the mega info! I look forward to doing Oceanworld AND the Monster truck safari.Can you give me a little more info regarding the prices (see original post) for Oceanworld please and who did you book through? We were planning on booking through Isaira tours when we get there (Iberostar Costa Dorada).
Thanks once again.

David